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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

A day in pictures

I've been feeling like I have nothing exciting or adventurous to share. My life has consisted of seemingly routine things...teaching at Vatsalya, running errands, shopping with friends.

But the other day I was inspired by another expat's blog, who documented her entire day in pictures. She didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but to someone unfamiliar with the culture or environment it was really interesting.

I spend so much time in the backseat of the car, completely tuned out to what is going on around me. As soon as I get in the car, I put in my Dre. Beats (thanks again, mom and dad), blast Spotify in an attempt to block out the horns, and space out. I rarely stop to notice the heard of goats blocking traffic, or the guy texting on top of an elephant as it maneuvers through a traffic circle.

So last Saturday I tried to take pictures of my routine errands... You'll notice that there was sadly no Target or Trader Joe's involved. However, I did manage to get almost everything crossed off my list.

First stop of the day was my favorite restaurant, Palladio. I had a salad and enjoyedsome peace and quiet.

Shoppers Paradise"Paradise" isn't exactly the right word to describe this place. They're the only store with imported items, so they think they can get away with charging $9 for a block of cream cheese

What a deal! Half eaten, unsealed peanuts...yum!

All of city's dairy products are shoved in here. With the prices they charge for cheese,I could be shopping at Whole Foods!

Next stop, the fruit and veg stand.These guys consistently charge me fair prices, and they usually have the good stuff hiding in back if you ask (like mushrooms and lettuce.)

At On The House (OTH)In my opinion, this is the best bakery in Jaipur. I called ahead, so when I showed up,a french baguette was waiting for me!

Back in the car for a ride into the Pink City.

I stopped in here with some sari fabric I had to get it made into a "sari for dummies."One of my friends knows this guy, so she recommended him to me as an honest person to get the job done.

On my way out I got distracted and wandered into the attic of this store. I think the lanterns are beautiful, I just have to find a way to get one into my suitcase.

On my way back from the Pink City I saw Spiderman on a rickshaw.

Finally my busy day of errands ended with some delicious Valentine's day cupcakes.

I have to say that I really miss being able to go to one store and get everything I need. It can be exhausting to drive all over town in search for something. The other I day I was searching for paper fasteners for a school project. I tried four different stationary stores and was unsuccessful. I eventually got annoyed and gave up. I've even resorted to washing and re-using Ziploc bags I brought from home because the store I can get sandwich bags at is too far of a drive. It's annoying, but if things were easy then it wouldn't be India!

And no day is complete without a wedding parade...there's some horses and a camel down there somewhere.